Car-door safety device.



A. K. WINTER.

CAR DOOR SAFETY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 00128 1918,

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

ANNA K. WINTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CAR-DOOR SAFETY DEVICE.

Application filed October 28, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, ANNA K. \VINTER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Safety Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for arresting the closing movement of a door in a car when a passenger is in the act of passing into or through the doorway, which movement is effected by the passenger stepping on a plate in the doorway.

The object of this invention is to provide in connection with such a mechanism, a means that will disable the mechanism when the door is in the fully closed position, and is in the fully opened position.

In the accompanying drawing showing one embodiment of my invention, Figure l is a partial side view of a car. Fig. 2 is a detail, view of certain of the parts shown enlarged; and Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

This invention is designed with special reference to the form of mechanism shown in an application for patent by myself, Ser. No. 194,218, and is shown in the drawing as applied to a similar arrangement.

The car elhas a sliding door 5 that will close the doorway 6 at one side. A plate 7 is located beneath the door in the closed position and projects beyond the door on each side, see Fig. 3. This plate 7 is hinged at 8 at one end and will be depresed by the passenger stepping on the plate. On the lower edge of the door 5 is a toothed rack 9 having ratchet teeth as shown, and a pawl 10 is pivoted below the car door and carries a spring plunger 12 that will be forced up by the pawl to engage the rack teeth and arrest the closing of the door, but not interfere with the opening movement, because of the inclined teeth. An electromagnet 13 is arranged to attract and swing the pawl 10 when the circuit of the magnet is closed. The circuit of this magnet includes a contact plate 1% and a spring plunger 15 attached to the sill plate 7 as shown. Spring 16 of the plunger keeps the plate raised and the contact normally broken. but when the plate is depressed this circuit is closed and the magnet will shift the plunger 12 to engage the rack. Therefore when the door starts to close and a passenger will step on Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Serial No. 259,917.

the plate 7 the plunger 12 will rise and engage the teeth to arrest the door at once. When this circuit is broken the spring 17 will lower the plunger and release the door.

A signal light 20, and a bell 21 are shown arranged in the circuit of the magnet to warn the guard at the end of the car that the sill plate has been depressed by a passenger,

The mechanism so far described is similar to that disclosed in said patent application, and forms no part of my invention. But with the construction set forth, if when the door is fully opened or fully closed, the sill plate 7 is depressed, the circuit will be closed and the arresting device operated; also causing the light and bell at the end of the car to be operated, which is unnecessary and will consume the current, as a passenger might stand on the sill plate for a considerable time when the door is closed.

To avoid this condition I provide means that will serve to disable the arresting means and also the signal means whenever the door reaches the fully opened position or the fully closed position, but will cause these devices to be operative as soon as the door moves from its said positions.

I set forth such means in the form of electric switches that will open the circuit of the magnet when the door is fully closed, and when it is fully open. The circuit wire 18' connects by wires 1 and 2 with terminals 3 and 24 respectively. A switch lever 25 serves to normally connect these terminals and close the circuit at this place.

This lever is arranged to be engaged by the door 5 when brought to the fully opened position, and thereby swung to disengage these terminals 3 and 24-, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1. The door will hold the switch lever in this position as long as opened. Therefore should the sill plate be thendepressed to connect the terminals 14 and 15, the magnet will not be energized, nor the signals for the reason that the circuit is opened'at the switch 25. As soon as the door'starts to close a'spring 26 will return the switch lever to close the terminals by a spring 31 to connect these terminals and close the circuit at this place. the door is brought to the closed position its edge will strike a lug 30 on the lever and swing the lever to free the terminals 27 and 2S and thus open the circuit. Hence the sill plate if depressed cannot now serve to operate the arresting device nor the signals. lVhen the door starts to open the spring 31 will at once swing the switch lever 29 to close these terminals, and the sill plate can operate the arresting devices and'signals.

I also show another form of means for cutting out the circuit of the magnet 13 by the door. In Fig. 1 a plate 410 is shown on the door that is engaged by brushes tl and 42, which brushes connect by wires i3 and 44: with the leads 1 and 2 for the magnet 13. It is to be understood that in such case the two switches and 29 are omitted. As shown with the door in an intermediate po sition the plate i0 connects the two brushes to complete the circuit. ld hen the door is closed the brush t1 will not engage the plate 40 as this plate will move beyond this brush. When the door moves back to the full opened position the brush 42 will not engage the plate 40 and hence the circuit will be opened. But as soon as the door is moved. between either of these limit positions the circuit for the magnet will be closed by these brushes, and if the sill plate is depressed the magnet 13 will be energized.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a car, the combination with the side having a doorway and a door slidable to close the doorway, and a sill plate pivoted at the doorway beneath the door in its closed position and arranged to be depressed by a passenger when the door is open, and means for arresting the closing movement of the door that is effected by the said depression of: the sill plate,ot means for disabling said arresting means by the door when brought to the fully open and to the fully closed po sitions.

2. In a car, the con'ibination with the side having a doorway and a door slidable to close the doorway, of a sill plate pivoted at its inner end in the doorway and beneath the door. in its closed position and arranged to be depressed by a passenger when the door is open, means for arresting the closing movement of the door that is caused to operate by the said depression of the sill plate,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of 3atents,

When

said means including a contact carried by the opposite end of the sill plate for closing an electric circuit, an electric switch in said circuit normally closed and arranged to be engaged by the door when moved to fully open position to thereby open said circuit and disable the arresting device, and a second electric switch in said circuit normally closed and arranged to be opened by the door when in the fully closed position to disable the arresting device.

3. In a car, the combination with the side having a doorway, and a door slidable to close the doorway, of a sill plate located at the doorway beneath the door in closed po sition and arranged to be depressed by a passenger when the door is open, a toothed rack on the lower edge of the door, a vertically movable spring actuated pawl on the car arranged to engage the teeth of the rack when moved from normal position, an QlGC'. tro-magnet arranged to shift the pawl to engage the rack, an electric circuit including said magnet, a switch in said circuit normally open but arranged to be closed on depression of the sill plate by the passenger whereby the electro-magnet will swing the pawl into the rack and arrest the closing movement of the door, an electric switch in said circuit normally closed and arranged to be engaged by the door when moved to fully open position to thereby open said circuit and disable the arresting device, and a second electric switch in said circuit normally closed and arranged to be opened by the door when in the fully closed position to disable the arresting device.

4. In a car, the combination with the side having a doorway and a door slid-able to close the doorway, and a sill plate pivoted at the doorway beneath the door in its closed position and arranged to be depressed by .a passenger when the door is open, and means for arresting the closing movement of the door that is efi ected by the said depression of the sill plate, of means for disabling said.

arresting means by the door comprising an electric switch in said circuit arranged to be engaged by the door when moved from an intermediate position to its limit of movement in One direction to thereby open said circuit and disable the arresting device.

Signed at New York city, N. Y., on October 26, 1918.

ANNA K. XVINTER.

i Washington, D. 0. 

